Hi, I am Jennie and I am the founder and coach at RISE Shanghai.
Far too often, when I introduce myself as such, I get sized up from head to toe.
You see, I don’t look the part. (Or at least the part as outlined by the current exercise culture.)
I don’t possess half a dozen sculpted abdominals and barely have a thigh gap (although this one is a function of angles, lighting, and limb arrangement).
But, I can lift my bodyweight overhead, and I can squat 1.5 times my bodyweight too. I can also do 11 strict pull-ups unbroken, more than double that in push-ups, other cool stuff like toes to bar, handstand pushups, and have the physical capacity to do some pretty hard workouts gracefully enough. Oh, I can also do front-splits, and reach behind to scratch my own back.
If you consider the extraordinary fitness achievements we witness today, I am really not particularly ‘beast-ly’. I am average, at best, below-average maybe, if we’re going to be completely scientific about it.
But you see, I am the best version of myself today.
I have never been healthier, and I have never felt better in my body and what it can do for me.
I live pain-free and pretty much never get sick. I also live a very physically active life, where I can bike 20-30 kilometers across town most days, climb 6 flights of stairs daily – many times over, and independently put my luggage into overhead cabins.
What I am describing to you here are the hallmarks of an Everyday Athlete. And that’s what I set out to do at RISE Shanghai. I wanted to make athletes out of everyday folks – just like myself.
The fitness industry is full of hype and hyperbole. Everything is either the best, the fastest, or the most effective. Everyone seems to have found the quickest and the best solution to achieve whatever fitness goals they’ve indoctrinated people into having in the first place.
If you’re looking to become the best at *insert arbitrary fitness goal*, lift the heaviest, qualify for the crossfit games – that’s not me, but I can help point you towards the right direction.
However, at RISE, we cater to nothing extraordinary.
Our programs are made for ordinary people. Our coaching methodology is 100% learning, you’re going to be the one doing most of the work, and we’re going to help you do extraordinary things.
We build Everyday Athletes, so you can go out there and live life large.
Join the hustle.
